Don’t politicize rights of teachers and students

The Student Rights Ordinance is set to be chucked away in Seoul after dominating classroom dynamics over the last 12 years. The Seoul Metropolitan Council passed a motion last Friday to revoke the nonbinding ordinance, which has sharply undermined the authority of teachers, through unilateral voting by conservative People Power Party (PPP) members due to the boycott of opposition Democratic Party (DP) councilmen. The Seoul city council took the action after its counterpart in South Chungcheong did so earlier.

Cho Hee-yeon, the liberal superintendent of education in Seoul, went on a sit-in strike immediately after the vote. He vowed to veto the motion. The council can revote on the motion after the veto. But the PPP commands 67.6 percent of the 111-member council, which is enough to pass the bill.

The student rights ordinance had been controversial since a progressive education chief in Gyeonggi Province created it in 2010. Seoul adopted it through a council vote in 2012. At the beginning, teachers protested the ban on corporal punishment on students. But today, physical punishment has become a forgotten tradition.

The student rights ordinance helped soften the rigid authoritative classroom culture in Korea. But the rise of students’ rights came at the cost of teachers’ demoralization. Teachers started raising their voices on their rights following the tragic death of a young elementary school teacher in Seoul who ended her life last July after suffering serious harassment from students’ parents. The rights of students and teachers should not clash. They must be in balance, as schools are a place for both students and teachers.

The Ministry of Education and each education office under the jurisdiction of the ministry came up with measures to protect teachers last year, but they proved to be late and lacking. Disciplining unruly students is a duty of the classroom teacher. Teachers must have the authority to discipline students in a non-abusive manner. They also must be free from reckless complaint filings by parents. Education authorities had neglected their duty for too long.

The Education Ministry offered amendments to the ordinance last November, but they pleased no one. The discontinuation of the ordinance should not be politicized. Involved parties must not exploit an educational issue for their political gains. The issue demands sufficient social debate aside from the local council’s decision.

Whether there is an ordinance or not, protecting student rights is an important value for our society to uphold. The country needs a balanced school charter that can protect students’ rights and responsibilities while respecting teachers’ authority at the same time.